1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a chip card reader having a carriage mounted thereon for carrying a card to be read. The carriage runs counter to a spring force in a receiving part of the reader and has springs for contacting a chip located on the chip card. Included in the present reader is a device for turning the reading and evaluating mechanism of the reader on and off.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Arrangements are known where a chip card is at first placed into a carriage without friction or making physical contact with the card. Only after insertion of the carriage into the receiving part, approximately in an end position, or a position for reading the chip card, is the contacting thereof accomplished. This contacting occurs through a crosspiece arranged at the receiving part of the reader, which crosspiece presses contact springs moved with the carriage down onto the chip card approximately at this end position. The turning on and off of the reading and evaluating system occurs via a separate micro-switch.
When used frequently, the chip card reader as well as the chip card are subject to an inevitable accumulation of dirt. To ensure the safety of operation of the reader nevertheless, contact forces higher than normally might be required are needed for the contacting of the chip card. In the case of equipment of relatively low weight, e.g. light-weight telephone equipment, this results in the equipment being displaced by the spring forces in an undesirable manner.